Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor in chief, publisher, reporter
The Hill · C · trust 52/100
Comments: by Filip Timotija - 08/21/26 6:11 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Filip Timotija - 08/21/26 6:11 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING The Pentagon fired the publisher, editor in chief and at least one reporter at Stars and Stripes, a historically independent military news outlet, Friday as the department has looked to reshape its coverage in recent months.
The Department of Defense (DOD) dismissed Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, Stars and Stripes reported Friday .
Slavin said he was ousted for insubordination after telling CBS News in an interview that potential censorship of news for U.S. service members would be a red line.
Korte confirmed her firing on social media, saying it was for “insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes – not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker.”
“I consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories. It’s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press,” Korte said on social platform X .
Stars and Stripes has traditionally enjoyed independence from the DOD, even though its staff are Pentagon employees and it’s partially funded by the department.
Earlier this week, Lederer said he would retire from his role by Sept. 30, since his “understanding of the value and mission” of the outlet is different in “fundamental ways” from the plans the DOD has for the newspaper.
“I have thought a great deal about the right time to step aside, and I have concluded that this is it,” Lederer said in a note to staff. “I leave with real pride in what we have accomplished together and with complete confidence in what you will accomplish next.”
The DOD installed Navy Capt. William Urban, an active duty service member, as the new deputy publisher a few weeks ago, prompting questions from three Democratic senators.
Journalism groups slammed the Pentagon for ousting Slavin, arguing it is another attempt by the department to dictate news coverage of the outlet.
“This is an assault on the fundamental principle that journalists must be free to report the news without fear of retaliation from the government officials they cover,” the National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said in a statement Friday . “The Pentagon must reaffirm that principle and make clear that Stars and Stripes journalists will not be punished for doing their jobs.”
The Pentagon has sought to refocus coverage on “warfighting” and remove what it calls “woke distractions” in the outlet’s coverage.
“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” Pentagon Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in January.
In April, the DOD removed the newspaper’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, the person in charge of monitoring the outlet’s editorial independence and reporting concerns to Congress.
“Apparently the Pentagon also doesn’t want you to hear from me anymore about threats to the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes,” Smith wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal at the time.
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